25 Celebrities Reveal Their Favorite Books

“My father gave me this book when I was getting into trouble in high school…I really love the interior lives of the characters and the multiple perspectives—they have inspired my own stories.”

Zoe SaldanaLucy by Jamaica Kincaid

“Lucy…called out to me, to the kind of life I had and the kind of person I am.”

Katie HolmesWashington Square by Henry James

“I loved the setting and the way James writes about people.”

Jon HammArcadia by Tom Stoppard

“Stoppard has an amazing command of the English language. He moves the plot along in such a way that if you’re not paying close attention, you won’t catch the five or six things that are going on.”

Bill MurrayA Story Like the Wind by Laurens Van Der Post

Natalie PortmanCloud Atlas by David Mitchell

“It’s one of the most beautiful, entertaining, challenging books – something that takes all your attention. I think the stories are meditations on violence, specifically the necessity of violence.”

Michael CaineThe Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Michelle ObamaSong of Solomon by Toni Morrison

“…that book helped me love reading…it grabbed me and pulled me and I just kept reading and kept reading.”

Robin WilliamsFoundationTrilogy by Isaac Asimov

“It’s one of the greatest books of all time, and the greatest character is The Mule.”

Stephen KingLord of the Flies by William Golding

Dolly PartonThe Little Engine that Could, Watty Piper

“I’m the little engine that did. I think it’s a great little inspirational book. It really kinda sums me up pretty good.”

Denzel WashingtonSiddhartha by Herman Hesse

Emma WatsonThe BFG by Roald Dahl

“My dad read me The BFG when I was younger. I like books that aren’t just lovely but that have memories in themselves. Just like playing a song, picking up a book again that has memories can take you back to another place or another time.”

Tom HanksIn Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Olivia MunnReplay by Ken Grimwood

“The takeaway for me was that no matter what life you’ve led or the choices you’ve made, there will always be great love and great sadness – you can’t escape those two things.”

Kate WinsletTherese Raquin by Emile Zola

Alec BaldwinTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

“In some important ways the characters that we have grown to love in this story are worse off at its end, but they are wiser, and the family still has each other. This is a great story about facing life’s difficulties and moving on, no matter what.”

Zooey DeschanelA Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace

“It’s delightfully astute.”

George ClooneyWar & Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Will SmithThe Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo

“Coelho talks about the whole of the universe, and it’s contained in one grain of sand. For years I’ve been saying that, and not it’s really starting to expose itself to me.”

Jim CarreyCrime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Rachel McAdamsWhen You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

“[David Sedaris]…has a way of finding humor in the strangest and most painful moments…[his] books are such a revelation about how you can celebrate life’s strangeness and idiosyncrasies.”

Halle BerrySome Love, Some Pain, Sometime by J. California Cooper

“The stories in this collection follow common folk dealing with everyday issues. They’re good people who sometimes make evil choices, and you see them suffer as a result. While many of the stories start off dark and depressing, ultimately, they are incredibly inspirational.”

Emma ThompsonThe Odyssey by Homer

Daniel RadcliffeThe Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

“It’s just the greatest explosion of imagination, craziness, satire, humor, and heart.”

Looking for a new book to read? Check in every Friday for a “Bee Happy” post, where I share reviews of books I’ve read or other book-themed lists.